


The Price of Meddling

by HollowIsTheWorld



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Benny and Gabriel restaurant rivalry, Big Brother Gabriel, Gabriel meddles in his brothers lives, Gabriel sees more than he really wants to, Gen, M/M, Samandriel is ticklish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowIsTheWorld/pseuds/HollowIsTheWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel Novak did not meddle in the love lives of his brothers. But if the opportunity just came and dropped itself in his lap, how was he supposed to resist?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of Meddling

Gabriel Novak did not meddle in the love lives of his brothers.

For some reason, he was always met with skeptical looks and eye rolls when he told people that, but he didn't. Well, he meddled with Castiel's. But come on, the boy needed all the help he could get. If it weren't for Gabriel, Dean and Castiel would have ended up as a couple of senile old single men who shared a bed and a house and a lease and a dog and three adopted children and still swore up and down they weren't involved in anyway because they were stupid and emotionally constipated like that. Castiel still swore that Gabriel had hurt more than he'd helped, but Gabriel was of the opinion that a happily ever after was well worth a  few sunburns and a mishap with some hair dye.

But he didn't meddle beyond that. Well, he may have given Michael a nudge when he'd started showing interest in a girl who worked a few floors below him at his office, but that was just because he'd thought getting laid would be in Michael's best interest. And that it might get Michael off his back for a bit. And it had worked, hadn't it? It hadn't been Gabriel's fault that two weeks later the girl had turned out to be a psycho who wanted Michael to run off to Vegas to marry her.

And there had been that incident with Balthazar and the librarian that had resulted in six shelves being knocked over and a small electrical fire. Gabriel still mandated that no one could prove he had been involved.

But, as a general rule, he left well enough alone. Particularly when it came to baby brother Samandriel and his inexplicable relationship with the owner of the restaurant down the street, which was Gabriel's biggest rival and the source of many family feuds. Dean - not technically family, but he and Castiel were all but joined at the hip, so it counted - refused to take back his opinion that Benny Lafitte made better pie than Gabriel did, and that wasn't something Gabriel could just forgive.

Samandriel had announced his and Benny's relationship after dessert one night when the whole family was together at Lucifer's place, prefacing it by saying he wouldn't be by for awhile because finals were approaching, and had he mentioned he had a boyfriend? He'd told them it was Benny and been out the door before anyone could react. Dean had seen the stunned looks on all their faces and laughed, apparently having known already. Gabriel had refused to serve him pie for three days, until Dean started bringing pieces into Gabriel's restaurant that clearly came from Benny. That couldn't be stood for.

Gabriel was willing to admit that he'd _wanted_ to meddle. He'd wanted to march down the street, break down the door of the _Adventure Galley_ \- named after some pirate ship, apparently, which went to show just how bad of an influence Benny Lafitte really was - and let the idiot chef know that no brother of his was going to be stuck dating a reject like him.

Michael had shut down that idea, telling Gabriel that Samandriel was almost twenty years old and still hopelessly single, and if him getting laid meant that he was dating the twenty-three year old restaurant owner down the block, that was just the way things were and Gabriel was going to have to deal with it. Gabriel had pouted for two days after that.

Still, even with all that pent-up aggression, rivalry, and disapproval, Gabriel couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Benny when the restaurant's back door banged open and shut again and Samandriel barged through, grabbing a handful of cookies off the counter and storming upstairs to Gabriel's apartment.

"Sure!" Gabriel shouted after him. "Come on in! I don't mind! Hell, help yourself to my food while you're at it!"

Samandriel didn't respond, probably well out of earshot, and Gabriel rolled his eyes and went back to attempting to force his stack of recipes into something resembling a logical order. Samandriel went through strange moods sometimes. It made Gabriel pity Benny, just a little. The man probably didn't know what he was in for and that show had probably been preceded by a pretty big fight between the two of them.

Another door opened and shut, the front this time. "Hey, sorry, we're closed already," Gabriel said looking up. He was shocked to see none other than Benny Lafitte standing there looking upset.

"Samandriel here?"

Gabriel made direct, unblinking eye contact with Benny and bit into a cookie. "Why should I tell you?"

"I'll assume that's a yes."

Gabriel took another bite. "Good for you. You're still not getting near him."

Benny sighed and sat down next to Gabriel. "What's he told you?"

"Nothing. But he slammed a door very loudly and I'm prone to taking my baby brother's side over my rival's. What'd you do?"

"Nothing! Or, at least, I didn't think I-"

"Let me stop you right there. You did something. Maybe you don't think it was anything, but until you apologize for doing it, Samandriel's not going to forgive you. Boy is the master of grudge holding."

Benny stared at him for a minute before slowly lowering his head to rest on his arms on the countertop. "Your brother is deceptively adorable."

Gabriel winced. "Did you tell him that? Is that why he's mad?"

"The fight may have followed the word 'cute'. How was I supposed to know he'd take it as an insult?"

"Ah, Benny, you poor, misguided soul."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Gabriel reached out and gave Benny an exaggeratedly sympathetic pat on the arm. "Why should I help you with this? I imagine you've worked out all on your own that I don't like you very much."

Benny nodded. "And you definitely don't approve of me dating angel."

Gabriel stared at Benny until he started to look confused, clearly unaware that he had just said something strange. "Did you just call Samandriel 'angel'?"

Benny's eyes widened and a blush slowly took over his face.  "No, I- I, uh- I'm not-"

Gabriel snorted. "You call him 'angel'? And he _lets_ you?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, that's good. I almost want the two of you to make up just so I can mock him. Does he have any other embarrassing nicknames?"

Benny gave him a dryly unamused look. "Why should I tell you?"

"Ah, touché. Perhaps because I may then be motivated to help you make up with my precious baby brother?"

"Gabriel?"

"Yeah?"

"You're sort of a twisted soul."

"So I've been told. Do you want my help or not?"

"Not. Samandriel isn't speaking to me because I called him 'cute'. And other things, but that was the starting point. I don't think he'd forgive me if I started giving you blackmail material."

"Good boy. Test passed. Moving on."

"What?"

Gabriel flashed him a grin. "If you'd agreed, I'd have taken it as an excuse to shoot you, like I wanted to when Dri first told us you two were dating. After I'd taken all the embarrassing stories I could wring out of you, of course."

"Of course." Benny was now looking at him as though he fully believed Gabriel was completely insane. He'd have been insulted, if he wasn't so used to it. "Are you actually going to help me talk to Samandriel, or should I leave now and start throwing rocks at his window?"

"Awww, are you going to be his Romeo now?"

"Hopefully not. Ritualistic suicide sounds like a pretty disappointing date to me."

"Again, good answer."

Benny shook his head. "Well, not that this hasn't been fun, Gabriel, but if I can't talk to your brother I'm going to go and work on my apology speeches."

"Speeches? Will there be more than one?" Gabriel and Benny both turned to see Samandriel standing in the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest. He must have come down in search of more junk food.

Benny stood up so quickly that his chair toppled precariously for a second before stabilizing itself. "Um- Maybe? If there needs to be?"

"Want to give me a sample of the first one?"

Gabriel covered his mouth with his hand to hide his snicker before his brother could think he was being made fun of. He rested his chin on his fist and watched as Benny opened and closed his mouth like a beached fish a few times as he scrambled for words.

"Well, I-"

"Just a warning," Samandriel interrupted, coming around the corner from the kitchen to stand just a few feet away. "I'm still in a bad mood. Talk fast, but talk well."

Benny nodded. "Got it." And then he closed the short distance still between them, grabbed Samandriel by his elbows, yanked him in, and kissed him before he could protest. And, judging by the slight squawking noise Samandriel made just before their mouths collided, he did intend to protest. Samandriel wasn't one to let arguments drop that easily.

Not usually, anyway, Gabriel thought as he felt his eyebrows slowly slipping towards his hairline. Benny was definitely no longer the driving force behind the kissing, that much was obvious, and that was more of his little brother's passion than Gabriel really wanted to know about.

"Well," he said, pushing away from the counter and stepping towards them, "I'm glad to see that you two have made up."

If they heard him, neither of them gave any indication of it, and if they didn't stop soon, Gabriel was going to start seeing what they were doing with their tongues. Not something he wanted to see. He wasn't sure he'd be able to refrain from punching Benny out if he had to see that.

"Guys? Guys! Good God, you two, come up for air! Guys!"

Still nothing, and Samandriel had just let out a moan that Gabriel didn't want to think about. He rolled his eyes towards the sky. "Samandriel, I am really very sorry, but I have to get you out of my restaurant before I start seeing skin."

He moved forward, ready to bolt if Samandriel retaliated, and pinched Samandriel's sides.

The yelp he was rewarded with made the revenge he knew Samandriel would eventually go after worth it.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was your older brother not wanting to watch you get it on with your boyfriend. Who I still don't like, by the way."

"Gabriel, I swear to God…"

"Angel…" Benny broke in, looking at Samandriel appraisingly. "…Are you ticklish?"

The blush spread to Samandriel's ears and down his neck almost instantly and his gaze went from being angry and turned at Gabriel, to being horrified and aimed at Benny. "No!" His voice squeaked traitorously over the word.

Benny's face stretched slowly into a grin that would have sent chills up Gabriel's spine had such a look been coming from his own boyfriend or girlfriend. "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

Benny grabbed playfully for Samandriel's side and he jerked away. "Liar."

"Benny!"

Benny lunged and the two of them fell to the ground in a fit of shrieks and giggles. Gabriel gave his front room up as a lost cause and ran up the stairs for his apartment to start blasting the radio. He hadn't felt like he was meddling, but maybe he just needed to not associate with members of his brothers' love lives at all. If this was the consequence, he'd just as soon have them all be single forever. 


End file.
